Although the Hong Kong Government has set up a committee to review regulations on scientifically assisted reproduction, as yet there is no legislation governing the use and abuse of artificial insemination. Last September, a bill was gazetted for the establishment of a statutory body on scientific assisted human reproduction.
If the bill becomes law, it will ban commercial surrogacy and sex selection on non-medical grounds. In the meantime, a couple desperate for a boy or a girl can visit a fertility clinic and vastly improve their chances of having a baby of the required sex.
The clinic will mix sperm and egg and only implant the embryo of the preselected sex in the woman's womb. Most Western countries have stringent regulations governing gender selection. Laboratories can only legally favour one embryo over another if there is a high risk of a couple's offspring inheriting a severe genetic disorder.
